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Understanding Regional Geography. Regions. A Region is a specific area that has similar characteristics and features Regions are human-made, so they are not always based on physical features We conceptualize regions so we can: Organize phenomena by area
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Regions • A Region is a specific area that has similar characteristics and features • Regions are human-made, so they are not always based on physical features • We conceptualize regions so we can: • Organize phenomena by area • Understand patterns and make generalizations
What can be organized this way? People Places Ideas Things/Activities
Conceptualizing Regions • How do we conceptualize regions? • Special or unique criteria identify regions • These criteria can be: • Spatial (a particular location on the earth’s surface) • Boundaries that separate out space • Physical • Climate, Vegetation • Cultural: • Like Language, or Religion, or Cultural Practices • Economic: • Like Agriculture, Industry
How do we identify Regions? • We construct categories that help us identify, classify, categorize regions. • These three categories are not mutually exclusive • How we define something has much to do with what we are looking for or why we want to look for it • So we can look at a very small “snapshot” of an area, or look at quite large territorial expanses, and both are considered regions • We can look at Regions as “Worlds within Worlds” • The Onion Metaphor; Contextual reality, like peeling back layers of onion • Formal • Functional • Perceptual
3. Perceptual “Bible Belt”
With your group/partner, brainstorm four different ways of regionalizing the United States. • Spatial • Physical • Cultural • Economic
